Whaley Bridge

Whaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately 16mi south of Manchester, 7mi north of Buxton, 9mi east of Macclesfield and 28mi west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,455 at the 2011 census. This includes the village of Furness Vale, which falls within the boundaries of Whaley Bridge. Other districts of 'Whaley', as it is known locally, include Horwich End, Bridgemont, Fernilee Stoneheads and Taxal.HistoryThere is evidence of prehistoric activity in the area, including early Bronze Age standing stones, burial sites and the remains of a stone circle. A bronze-age axe head was discovered in 2005. There has long been speculation that the 'Roosdyche', a complex of banks and ditches on the eastern side of the town, is of prehistoric human origin, but investigations in 1962 concluded that it was formed by glacial meltwater.The name of Weyley or Weylegh appears in many 13th-century documents and is derived from the Anglo Saxon weg leah meaning a clearing by the road. In 1351 the lands of Weyley and Yeardsley were granted to William Joddrell for his faithful service to Edward, the Black Prince. In the 14th century, it housed the residence of William Jauderell and his descendants (the name also spelt Jodrell). The Jodrells continued to call their lands Yeardsley Whaley for centuries and when the first local government board was formed in 1863 and the area became an urban district, the town adopted its popular name of Whaley Bridge and the town has been called so ever since.